Why West Ham's clash at Cardiff is far more important that the League Cup semi-final with Manchester City

Support: Big Sam received a vote of confidence from the Hammers hierarchy this week (Image: Christopher Lee)

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The disintegration of West Ham over the last five months is reflected in the growing importance of their clash this week in what could arguably be their most important fixture so far this season.

No - not the first leg of their Capital One clash with Manchester City at The Etihad tomorrow night. The relevant match will come in South Wales on Saturday when they take on Cardiff in the Premier League.

There would be considerable glory in beating the millionaires from City and taking a huge step towards a Wembley final on March 2. But a defeat against a Cardiff outfit rejuvenated by the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer as manager would increase the fear of the unthinkable. And that would be relegation.

The implications of dropping to the Championship are immense. Players of the profile of Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Mark Noble are not paid peanuts and all are under contract.

That is a huge financial burden to take into the second tier of English football. Cue a garage sale of mega proportions at Upton Park next summer if the worst case scenario is realised.

And while the move to the Olympic Stadium would still go ahead in 2016, the attraction of of fixtures against the likes of Blackburn, Middlesbrough and Watford do not have the same ticket-selling allure of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. And just on the horizon are Premier League games against Newcastle and Chelsea. Doesn't get any easier, does it?

There is also a weird symmetry about this Saturday's encounter. Go back to mid-August at Upton Park. Joe Cole scored a classy first goal and West Ham convincingly won 2-0. Only one of those teams going to be in trouble this season was the general consensus as the fans left Upton Park. The problem now is that West Ham are in the bottom three and Cardiff are not. No-one saw that coming.

To sack Allardyce at this moment would be an awful mistake. The squad are mainly his signings and while players can be chameleon-like with their loyalty, the majority have belief and faith in Allardyce.

So it will be down to Allardyce, it seems, to drag West Ham to safety. He has been beset by an awful list of injuries and that is a feasible excuses. But excuses and hard-luck stories do not secure points. And West Ham need those desperately. Three at Cardiff would be a good start.